Causative-Passive (させられる)
Learning Objectives
- Understand the concept of the combined causative-passive form.
- Conjugate Group 1, Group 2, and Irregular verbs into this form.
- Learn the common 'shorthand' conjugation for Group 1 verbs (〜される).
- Use the causative-passive to complain about being forced to do an action.
You have learned the Passive (〜れる/られる: an action is done to you) and the Causative (〜せる/させる: making/letting someone do an action). Now, we combine them! The Causative-Passive (〜させられる) literally means “I was made/forced to do an action by someone.” It heavily implies reluctance or complaining. This is the ultimate “I didn’t want to do it, but I had to” form!
1. The Concept and Particles
In a causative-passive sentence:
- The subject (は/が) is the person who was forced to do the action (usually the speaker).
- The doer (に) is the person who forced the action to happen.
- The sentiment is almost always negative (reluctance, annoyance, or obligation).
私は母に野菜を食べさせられました。
watashi wa haha ni yasai o tabesaseraremashita.
I was forced to eat vegetables by my mother. (I didn't want to!)
Compare this to the standard causative:
- 母は私に野菜を食べさせた。 (Mom made me eat veggies - Focus on Mom’s action).
- 私は母に野菜を食べさせられた。 (I was forced to eat veggies by Mom - Focus on my suffering).
2. Conjugation
The conjugation is exactly what it sounds like: change the verb to the causative (〜せる), drop the る, and add the passive ending (〜られる).
Group 2 (Ru-Verbs)
Drop the る and add させられる (saserareru).
- 食べる (taberu) ➔ 食べさせられる (tabesaserareru - forced to eat)
- 見る (miru) ➔ 見させられる (misaserareru - forced to watch)
Group 3 (Irregular)
- 来る (kuru) ➔ 来させられる (kosaserareru - forced to come)
- する (suru) ➔ させられる (saserareru - forced to do)
私は先生に長い作文を書かせられました。
watashi wa sensei ni nagai sakubun o kakaseraremashita.
I was forced by the teacher to write a long essay.
彼は休みの日に会社へ来させられました。
kare wa yasumi no hi ni kaisha e kosaseraremashita.
He was forced to come to the company on his day off.
3. The Group 1 Shortcut (〜される)
For Group 1 verbs, changing from U ➔ A + せる + られる gets very long and tongue-twisting. For example: 書く ➔ 書かせられる (kakaserareru).
Because this is a mouthful, most Group 1 verbs use a shortcut form.
Shortcut Rule: Change the final 〜u sound to the 〜a sound, and add される (sareru).
- 書く (kaku) ➔ 書かされる (kakasareu - forced to write)
- 飲む (nomu) ➔ 飲まされる (nomasareru - forced to drink)
- 待つ (matsu) ➔ 待たされる (matasareru - forced to wait)
- 帰る (kaeru) ➔ 帰らされる (kaerasareru - forced to go home)
[!WARNING] You cannot use the shortcut if the Group 1 verb ends in
〜す(su), like話す(hanasu). Why? Because changing it would make話さされる(hanasasareru), which sounds terrible with the double “sa”. For verbs ending inす, you must use the full form:話させられる.
友達に一時間も待たされました。
tomodachi ni ichi-jikan mo matasaremashita.
I was made to wait for an hour by my friend.
先輩にお酒を飲まされました。
senpai ni osake o nomasaremashita.
I was forced to drink alcohol by my senior.
Contextual Dialogue
Let’s see Tanaka and Suzuki complaining about their work tasks.
田中さん、もう帰るんですか。お疲れ様です。
Tanaka-san, mou kaeru n desu ka. Otsukaresama desu.
Tanaka-san, are you going home now? Good work today.
お疲れ様。実は今日、一日中立たされて仕事をしたんです。足が疲れました。
Otsukaresama. Jitsu wa kyou, ichinichijuu tatasarete shigoto o shita n desu. Ashi ga tsukaremashita.
Good work. Actually, today I was made to stand and work all day. My legs are tired.
えっ？立たされたんですか。課長に？
E? Tatasareta n desu ka. Kachou ni?
Eh? Forced to stand? By the section manager?
はい。倉庫の椅子が足りないと言われて……。
Hai. Souko no isu ga tarinai to iwarete......
Yes. They told me there were not enough chairs in the storage room.
それはひどいですね。私は今、英語のメールを書かされています。帰りたいです。
Sore wa hidoi desu ne. Watashi wa ima, eigo no meeru o kakasarete imasu. Kaeritai desu.
That is terrible. As for me, I am being forced to write English emails now. I want to go home.
鈴木さんも大変ですね。頑張ってください！
Suzuki-san mo taihen desu ne. Ganbatte kudasai!
You are having a tough time too. Do your best!
Chapter Summary
- 1The causative-passive means 'was forced to do' and carries a nuance of reluctance or suffering.
- 2The person forced to act is the subject (私は). The person who forced them is marked with に.
- 3Conjugation is Verb-Causative + られる (e.g., 食べさせられる).
- 4Group 1 verbs usually use the shorter Verb-a + される form (飲む ➔ 飲まされる).
- 5Verbs ending in 'す' (su) must rely on the long form (話す ➔ 話させられる).
Knowledge Check
Test your understanding of the Causative-Passive form!
Quiz
What is the primary function of the causative-passive form?